BACO bore wipes

[ian45662]

Disaster can strike at just about anytime. Lord knows it has struck me with greasers and paper. Maybe 5 years ago now I needed 7 pigs to get my first master score. I felt really good about it but I ended up hitting 5. As anyone can imagine I was very happy

[desert deuce]

Understand Smoke, I truly do understand and thank you for sharing those valuable tidbits.

A little clue for some that have a hankering to shoot long range target which, by the way, is a fairly accurate test of a rifleman's skills which is probably why some have so much trepidation, admitted or not, in giving it an honest effort. Others relish the challenge and do well.

Steve Garbe advocates for Match Directors to include equipment lists from the shooters when sending match reports which is valuable in determining what the winners use so that information is available to the readers of Black Powder Cartridge News.

Take for instance the Byers, Colorado, Long Range Matches this past weekend. Thirty five riflemen line up to test their skills in the elements on the Western Plains much as the original buffalo hunters did. You see, the buffalo hunter accepted the conditions as they were and worked with them. He also was fairly familiar with his rifle and load and used what was available to him at that point in time to produce the desired result....So much has changed since then but in the end it is still the rifleman addressing the elements. He learned to be a successful buffalo hunter by shooting buffalo. A lot of buffalo.

Using Byers this past weekend as an example the bottom line is the only shooters that actually benefitted from the experience were the 35 that participated. They are the buffalo hunters of today. Everyone else is in one way or another confined to a vicarious experience through them the value of which is limited in usefulness. One of the factors that is universally useful is who posted the top scores and what was their equipment.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery which shooters equipment list might you seek to imitate should you want to improve YOUR scores? Because you will likely see a pattern and it goes like this, "Oh it is the same old same old, those guys always win." Well, the first clue is to why it is the same old same old is because they have perfected their overall approach to match shooting and they shoot a lot. Oh yes, there is no substitute for trigger time and match experience and the best place to gain that is shooting elbow to elbow with the best shooters, at every opportunity. It is sort of like paying your dues, don't expect to start in the winners circle. The final arbiter in this discussion is always the target, not the opinion.

[desert deuce]

Ian shared: Disaster can strike at just about anytime. Lord knows it has struck me with greasers and paper. Maybe 5 years ago now I needed 7 pigs
to get my first master score. I felt really good about it but I ended up hitting 5. As anyone can imagine I was very happy

Did you determine what prevented those two impudent little piggies from toppling over? Let me guess, the bullet did not strike them. So, what took place on the part of the rifleman that helped those two pigs to dodge the bullet? Was it something that deviated between the eye and trigger? Perhaps had an origin in the subconcious?

[ian45662]

If I had to guess I would say that I just let the pressure get to me. Everything was going well right up to that point. I remember being pretty nervous when I laid down on the sticks. For whatever reason it seems like if something is going to go wrong..... for me it happens on the pigs. Sometimes the turkeys also. Hitting 2 turkeys one day at Alma this past July had a very good feeling.

[powderburnt]

In a recent phone conversation with Dave Gullo while making a BA order, Dave said he had tried paper patch and it had done well for him but he said it seemed he could never get away from that 1 out of 10 shots that was not to call. Target paper is not as forgiving as gongs and silhouette animals in a serious match format. It is generally agreed amongst my group of competitors that 1 out of 10 hits on a bank of 10 silhouette animals will be a near miss and not to call, greasers or pp. On paper that might be the equivalent of 10's and 9's with a 6 or 7 thrown in. Paper targets might be boring to some but I love it, it gives a true record of score and clearly shows the accuracy of any given load in the hands of a competent rifleman. Wish I were My silhouette scores have gone up appreciably since going to paper patching in a serious manner. I practice on paper targets.

HG

[ian45662]

I enjoy the long range stuff almost as much as the silhouette stuff. I wish we had more opportunities to shoot long range in my neck of the woods. I keep wanting to travel out west for a few shoots. Byers isn’t all that far neither is Lodi. Both are doable for me. I am going to have to put my big boy pants on and just do it sometime. Raton is on the top of my list of places out west to go shooting.

[BFD]

I enjoy the long range stuff almost as much as the silhouette stuff. I wish we had more opportunities to shoot long range in my neck of the woods. I keep wanting to travel out west for a few shoots. Byers isn’t all that far neither is Lodi. Both are doable for me. I am going to have to put my big boy pants on and just do it sometime. Raton is on the top of my list of places out west to go shooting.

Next summer, Raton just might be the biggest smorgasbord for shooting that a vintage gun guy could ever hope for. Don't clog up your early August with unimportant stuff...

[desert deuce]

There is no bigger Black Powder Target Rifle Match on Planet Earth than Ben Avery, Anthem, Arizona, March 2021. None.

It is The Creedmoor Shootapalozza of all Creedmoor Shoots. BUT, you have to show up to shoot.